When this weekend finally came, I was really looking forward to just resting. It´s been such a busy week, and I´m exhausted from having to think so hard constantly. Of course, the weekend was anything but relaxing, but that´s not to say that it wasn´t fun. I´m actually really glad that I kept busy, because it leaves me no time to think about home and my family and friends.
On Friday night, I went to a restaurant with most of the girls in my grade. It was called Tremenda, and it has amazing fruit juices! When I got home around 10:00, I was really tired, and ready for bed. But Xime, my host sister, wanted to rent a movie. I went with her and her boyfriend, Pedro, to the supermarket to buy snacks and we rented a movie called If Only. It was in English with Spanish subtitles, which was good, because I was way to tired to try and understand a movie in Spanish. I probably should have been reaading the subtitles and trying to understand, but I was way to tired.
On Saturday, I slept in until 11:00. After I had had breakfast and gotten ready, my host mom and sister, Xime, took me to Embalse Paloma. It was a giant water dam on a man made lake. It was really windy and cold, but really beautiful, because it was really close to the mountains. It was about 20 minutes outside of Ovalle. That´s one thing that I love about Chile. You can´t go anywhere in the country without seeing mountains. The dam also had a long lookout thing sticking out into the water. It was really high up, and with the wind, I thought I was going to get blown off into the water.
After Paloma, we went back to the house to pick up my host dad. We drive the to the other side of Ovalle, toward a town called Limari. On the way, we stopped at an Equine Center to eat at the restaurant there, but it was closed. We continued on to Limari, which is about 15 minutes outside Ovalle. There, my host mom showed me the school where she teaches English to young kids. We also went to a church where, I think, Xime and Fernanda were babtised. I couldn´t really understand them. Beside the church, there was a little house that was made out of mud! It was so weird. On the way back to Ovalle, my host mom pointed out the little shrines set up by the side of the road. I´ve been seeing them everywhere in Chile, and was dying to know what they were. My mom explained that they were little memorial shrines dedicated to people who had died in car accidents. She told me they are only in Chile.
Today (Sunday), we went to La Serena. La Serena is a bigger city 45 minutes away from Ovalle. It is really beautiful, right on the ocean, but you can still see the mountains in the background. There, I met up with Javier, who was an exchange student from Chile who lived in Edmonton. He just got home three weeks ago. It was good to see him, and my family said that they go to La Serena once or twice a month, so I will have more chances to see him and the other exchange students who are in La Serena. I also got to talk to Nynne, a student from Denmark, who was in the mall when we were. We are planning to get together with all the exchange students in La Serena and Ovalle in the next few weeks. Me and Javier walked around the mall and talked (in English, even though I shouldn´t have) and he taught me a few slang words that Chileans use that are different from traditional Spanish words. Like instead of "¿entiendes?" for "do you understand?" they say "¿cachai?." Also, instead of "¿como estas?" for "how are you?" they shorten in to sound like "¿comoestai?"
So that was my weekend. Tomorrow is Monday and (sigh) school again. I´m sure it will be another very busy week.
On Friday night, I went to a restaurant with most of the girls in my grade. It was called Tremenda, and it has amazing fruit juices! When I got home around 10:00, I was really tired, and ready for bed. But Xime, my host sister, wanted to rent a movie. I went with her and her boyfriend, Pedro, to the supermarket to buy snacks and we rented a movie called If Only. It was in English with Spanish subtitles, which was good, because I was way to tired to try and understand a movie in Spanish. I probably should have been reaading the subtitles and trying to understand, but I was way to tired.
On Saturday, I slept in until 11:00. After I had had breakfast and gotten ready, my host mom and sister, Xime, took me to Embalse Paloma. It was a giant water dam on a man made lake. It was really windy and cold, but really beautiful, because it was really close to the mountains. It was about 20 minutes outside of Ovalle. That´s one thing that I love about Chile. You can´t go anywhere in the country without seeing mountains. The dam also had a long lookout thing sticking out into the water. It was really high up, and with the wind, I thought I was going to get blown off into the water.
After Paloma, we went back to the house to pick up my host dad. We drive the to the other side of Ovalle, toward a town called Limari. On the way, we stopped at an Equine Center to eat at the restaurant there, but it was closed. We continued on to Limari, which is about 15 minutes outside Ovalle. There, my host mom showed me the school where she teaches English to young kids. We also went to a church where, I think, Xime and Fernanda were babtised. I couldn´t really understand them. Beside the church, there was a little house that was made out of mud! It was so weird. On the way back to Ovalle, my host mom pointed out the little shrines set up by the side of the road. I´ve been seeing them everywhere in Chile, and was dying to know what they were. My mom explained that they were little memorial shrines dedicated to people who had died in car accidents. She told me they are only in Chile.
Today (Sunday), we went to La Serena. La Serena is a bigger city 45 minutes away from Ovalle. It is really beautiful, right on the ocean, but you can still see the mountains in the background. There, I met up with Javier, who was an exchange student from Chile who lived in Edmonton. He just got home three weeks ago. It was good to see him, and my family said that they go to La Serena once or twice a month, so I will have more chances to see him and the other exchange students who are in La Serena. I also got to talk to Nynne, a student from Denmark, who was in the mall when we were. We are planning to get together with all the exchange students in La Serena and Ovalle in the next few weeks. Me and Javier walked around the mall and talked (in English, even though I shouldn´t have) and he taught me a few slang words that Chileans use that are different from traditional Spanish words. Like instead of "¿entiendes?" for "do you understand?" they say "¿cachai?." Also, instead of "¿como estas?" for "how are you?" they shorten in to sound like "¿comoestai?"
So that was my weekend. Tomorrow is Monday and (sigh) school again. I´m sure it will be another very busy week.
